Required only to sign a document to officially enter his not-guilty plea, he did not appear before President Judge Carol Van Horn at his formal arraignment on Wednesday afternoon in Franklin County Courthouse. However, Senior District Attorney William McGinnis told reporters he was in the building.

Dewald's next court hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Aug. 23, McGinnis said. The call-of-the-list status hearing will take place at the jail.

Dewald admitted to the kidnapping and the burglary, charging documents stated. He said he had surveyed the neighborhood for children playing outside without adult supervision at homes without surveillance. He claimed he took Moats because of "deplorable conditions" at her home, and decided against taking children from the second home because he found the conditions "acceptable."

Families face scrutiny

Her kidnapping led police to scrutinize her parents, Mark and Stephanie Moats. They'd had contact with Children and Youth officials previously, and rumors ricocheted across Facebook when the kidnapping happened. Two other children were also removed from their custody around the time Moats was found. It was not clear Wednesday if custody has since changed.